In-Vehicle Relay Device, Sleep Control Method, and Sleep Control Program

This application is the U.S. national stage of PCT/JP2023/037346 filed on Oct. 16, 2023, which claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2022-172049 filed on Oct. 27, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein.

The present disclosure relates to an in-vehicle relay device, a sleep control method, and a sleep control program.

JP 2018-074243A discloses technology such as the following: A relay device (11) including a plurality of ports (P1 to P5) through which frames are transmitted and received, a switch unit (31) having a relay execution unit that selects one of the plurality of ports, based on a destination of a received frame, which is a frame received via one of the plurality of ports, and executes relay processing for transmitting the received frame from the selected port, and switchable between a first startup state in which the relay processing is executable by the relay execution unit and a first hibernation state which the relay processing is unexecutable by the relay execution unit, a plurality of PHY units (Y1 to Y5) each having a communication execution unit that executes a reception function for converting communication signals input from the ports into reception data and outputting the reception data to the switch unit and a transmission function for converting data transmitted from the switch unit into communication signals to be transmitted on a communication line and outputting the communication signals to the ports, capable of switching between a second startup state in which the reception function and the transmission function are executable by the communication execution unit and a second hibernation state in which the reception function and the transmission function are unexecutable by the communication execution unit, and set respectively corresponding to the plurality of ports, a first control unit (37) that, in a case where the switch unit is in the first hibernation state and the plurality of PHY units are each in the second hibernation state, transitions the PHY unit corresponding to the port at which the frame is detected from the second hibernation state to the second startup state, and a second control unit (38) that, in a case where the switch unit is in the first hibernation state and the plurality of PHY units are each in the second hibernation state, transitions the switch unit from the first hibernation state to the first startup state, when one of the plurality of PHY units transitions from the second hibernation state to the second startup state.

In an in-vehicle network, in-vehicle functional units such as ECUs may be added according to the user's needs. Here, for example, if the time required for the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port of the in-vehicle relay device to which a new in-vehicle functional unit is connected to transition from the sleep mode to the wakeup mode exceeds an allowable time for an application installed in the new in-vehicle functional unit to start, operation in the newly configured in-vehicle network may become unstable.

The present disclosure has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, and an object thereof is to provide an in-vehicle relay device, a sleep control method, and a sleep control program capable of realizing stable operation in a newly configured in-vehicle network.

A technology has been developed to achieve a reduction in power consumption in an in-vehicle relay device, by applying sleep control to communication circuits provided corresponding to communication ports.

An in-vehicle relay device according to the present disclosure including: a plurality of communication ports configured to be respectively connected to a plurality of in-vehicle functional units; a plurality of communication circuits provided respectively corresponding to the plurality of communication ports and configured to communicate with the in-vehicle functional units via the corresponding communication ports; an acquisition unit configured to acquire, when addition of one of the in-vehicle functional unit to an in-vehicle network including an existing functional unit, which is one or more of the in-vehicle functional units, is detected, functional unit information of a new functional unit, which is the in-vehicle functional unit whose addition is detected; and a sleep control unit configured to perform, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit, selection processing for selecting, from among a plurality of types of sleep modes, a type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected.

One aspect of the present disclosure can be realized not only as an in-vehicle relay device that includes such characteristic processing units, but also as a semiconductor integrated circuit that realizes a part or the entirety of the in-vehicle relay device, or a system that includes the in-vehicle relay device.

With the present disclosure, stable operation in the newly configured in-vehicle network can be realized.

First, the details of an embodiment of the present disclosure are listed and described.

In a first aspect, an in-vehicle relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure including: a plurality of communication ports configured to be respectively connected to a plurality of in-vehicle functional units; a plurality of communication circuits provided respectively corresponding to the plurality of communication ports and configured to communicate with the in-vehicle functional units via the corresponding communication ports; an acquisition unit configured to acquire, when addition of one of the in-vehicle functional unit to an in-vehicle network including an existing functional unit, which is one or more of the in-vehicle functional units, is detected, functional unit information of a new functional unit, which is the in-vehicle functional unit whose addition is detected; and a sleep control unit configured to perform, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit, selection processing for selecting, from among a plurality of types of sleep modes, a type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected.

In this way, by adopting a configuration in which the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuits corresponding to a new functional unit and existing functional units is selected, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit, the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional units can respectively be transitioned to an appropriate sleep mode that corresponds to the functional unit information of the new functional unit, when the sleep condition of the in-vehicle relay device is established. Thus, delay in the transition of the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional units to the wakeup mode can be suppressed, when the wakeup condition of the in-vehicle relay device is established. Accordingly, stable operation in the newly configured in-vehicle network can be realized.

In a second aspect according to the first aspect, a configuration is possible in which, the functional unit information includes application information relating to an application installed in the new functional unit, and the sleep control unit performs the selection processing, based on the application information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit.

With such a configuration, a sleep mode that corresponds to the application information of the new functional unit can be selected, as the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional units.

In a third aspect according to the second aspect, a configuration is possible in which, the application information includes information relating to a type of the application.

With such a configuration, an appropriate sleep mode that corresponds to the type of application of the new functional unit can be used.

In a fourth aspect according to the second or the third aspect, a configuration is possible in which, the application information includes information relating to an allowable time for the application to start.

With such a configuration, an appropriate sleep mode that corresponds to the allowable time for an application installed in the new functional unit to start can be used.

In a fifth aspect according to any of the first through the fourth aspects, a configuration is possible in which, the acquisition unit further acquires functional unit information of the existing functional unit, and the sleep control unit performs the selection processing, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit and the functional unit information of the existing functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit.

With such a configuration, in the selection processing, a more appropriate sleep mode that reflects the contents of the functional unit information of the existing functional units in addition to the functional unit information of the new functional unit can be selected.

In a sixth aspect according to any of the first through the fifth aspects, a configuration is possible in which, the in-vehicle relay device further including: a storage unit configured to store function correspondence information indicating a correspondence relationship between the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected and the functional unit information of the existing functional unit, wherein the acquisition unit, in a case of acquiring the functional unit information of the new functional unit, performs update processing for registering, in the function correspondence information in the storage unit, a correspondence relationship between the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and the functional unit information of the new functional unit, and the sleep control unit performs the selection processing, based on the function correspondence information after the update processing.

With such a configuration, selection processing can be performed with simple processing, using function correspondence information after update processing, for

In a seventh aspect according to any of the first through the sixth aspects, a configuration is possible in which, the in-vehicle relay device further including: a storage unit configured to store sleep mode correspondence information indicating the sleep mode to respectively apply to the plurality of communication circuits, wherein the acquisition unit, in a case of another new functional unit being added to the in-vehicle network, acquires functional unit information of the other new functional unit, and the sleep control unit performs the selection processing, based on the functional unit information of the other new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit and the sleep mode correspondence information in the storage unit.

With such a configuration, at the time of performing selection processing using the functional unit information of another new functional unit, the sleep mode applied to each communication circuit in the most recent selection processing can be easily confirmed, by referring to the sleep mode correspondence information in the storage unit.

In an eighth aspect according to any of the first through the seventh aspects, a configuration is possible in which, the plurality of types of sleep modes include a first sleep mode and a second sleep mode in which power consumption of the communication circuits is smaller than in the first sleep mode, and when, in a state where the second sleep mode is selected as the sleep mode to apply to a predetermined plurality of the communication circuits, the new functional unit is connected to the communication port corresponding to at least one of the predetermined plurality of communication circuits, and the first sleep mode is selected as the sleep mode to apply to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected, the sleep control unit changes the sleep mode to apply to all of the remaining communication circuits of the predetermined plurality of communication circuits from the second sleep mode to the first sleep mode.

With such a configuration, when sleep control cannot be individually applied to a plurality of communication circuits due to specification constraints of the hardware or the like of the in-vehicle relay device, for example, the type of sleep mode to apply to the plurality of communication circuits can be correctly selected, and sleep control can be more stably applied.

In a ninth aspect, a sleep control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a sleep control method for use in an in-vehicle relay device including a plurality of communication ports configured to be respectively connected to a plurality of in-vehicle functional units, and a plurality of communication circuits provided respectively corresponding to the plurality of communication ports and configured to communicate with the in-vehicle functional units via the corresponding communication ports, the method including: a step of acquiring, when addition of one of the in-vehicle functional units to an in-vehicle network including an existing functional unit, which is one or more of the in-vehicle functional units, is detected, functional unit information of a new functional unit, which is the in-vehicle functional unit whose addition is detected; and a step of performing, based on the acquired functional unit information of the new functional unit, selection processing for selecting, from among a plurality of types of sleep modes, a type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected.

In this way, by adopting a configuration in which the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuits corresponding to a new functional unit and existing functional units is selected, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit, the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional units can respectively be transitioned to an appropriate sleep mode that corresponds to the functional unit information of the new functional unit, when the sleep condition of the in-vehicle relay device is established. Thus, delay in the transition of the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional units to the wakeup mode can be suppressed, when the wakeup condition of the in-vehicle relay device is established. Accordingly, stable operation in the newly configured in-vehicle network can be realized.

(10) A sleep control program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a sleep control program for use in an in-vehicle relay device including a plurality of communication ports configured to be respectively connected to a plurality of in-vehicle functional units, and a plurality of communication circuits provided respectively corresponding to the plurality of communication ports and configured to communicate with the in-vehicle functional units via the corresponding communication ports, the program causing a computer to function as an acquisition unit configured to acquire, when addition of one of the in-vehicle functional units to an in-vehicle network including an existing functional unit, which is one or more of the in-vehicle functional units, is detected, functional unit information of a new functional unit, which is the in-vehicle functional unit whose addition is detected; and a sleep control unit configured to perform, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit, selection processing for selecting, from among a plurality of types of sleep modes, a type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected.

In this way, by adopting a configuration in which the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuits corresponding to a new functional unit and existing functional units is selected, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit, the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional units can respectively be transitioned to an appropriate sleep mode that corresponds to the functional unit information of the new functional unit, when the sleep condition of the in-vehicle relay device is established. Thus, delay in the transition of the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional units to the wakeup mode can be suppressed, when the wakeup condition of the in-vehicle relay device is established. Accordingly, stable operation in the newly configured in-vehicle network can be realized.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding components in the drawings, and redundant descriptions thereof are not repeated. Furthermore, at least parts of the embodiments described below may be suitably combined.

1 FIG. 1 FIG. 301 101 201 301 501 201 501 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an in-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to, an in-vehicle communication systemincludes an in-vehicle relay deviceand a plurality of in-vehicle ECUs (Electronic Control Units). The in-vehicle communication systemis installed in a vehicle. The in-vehicle ECUsare an example of in-vehicle functional units installed in the vehicle.

201 201 Examples of the in-vehicle ECUsinclude an automatic driving ECU, an engine ECU, a door lock ECU, and a TCU (Telematics Communication Unit). Note that the in-vehicle functional units are not limited to the in-vehicle ECUs, and may be sensors, a navigation device, a human machine interface, cameras, or the like.

1 FIG. 301 201 201 201 201 In the example shown in, the in-vehicle communication systemis provided with in-vehicle ECUsA,B, andC, as the plurality of in-vehicle ECUs.

301 201 201 Note that the in-vehicle communication systemis not limited to being provided with three in-vehicle ECUs, and need only be provided with two or more in-vehicle ECUs.

101 201 401 The in-vehicle relay deviceand the plurality of in-vehicle ECUsconstitute an in-vehicle network.

401 401 401 Hereinafter, an in-vehicle functional unit that is newly added to the in-vehicle networkwill also be referred to as a new functional unit. The in-vehicle networkincluding a new functional unit will also be referred to as a new network, and the in-vehicle networkbefore the new functional unit is added will also be referred to as an existing network. Further, in-vehicle functional units included in the existing network will also be referred to as existing functional units.

1 FIG. 1 FIG. 201 201 201 201 101 In the example shown in, the in-vehicle ECUB is an example of a new functional unit, and the in-vehicle ECUsA andC are examples of existing functional units. Also, in, the dashed double-headed arrow indicates that the in-vehicle ECUB and the in-vehicle relay deviceare not connected.

202 201 201 201 202 201 202 202 201 202 201 202 Applicationsare installed in the in-vehicle ECUsA,B, andC. More specifically, an applicationA is installed in the in-vehicle ECUA, the applicationA and an applicationB are installed in the in-vehicle ECUB, and an applicationC is installed in the in-vehicle ECUC, as the applications.

401 201 101 11 201 201 11 101 In the in-vehicle network, the in-vehicle ECUsare connected to the in-vehicle relay devicevia, for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) cable. Each in-vehicle ECUis connected to the other in-vehicle ECUsvia the Ethernet cableand the in-vehicle relay device.

101 201 The in-vehicle relay deviceis, for example, a switch device, and performs relay processing for relaying data between the plurality of in-vehicle ECUsconnected thereto.

101 201 11 More specifically, the in-vehicle relay deviceperforms relay processing of Ethernet frames (hereinafter also simply referred to as “frames”) that are exchanged between the in-vehicle ECUsconnected via the Ethernet cable, in accordance with, for example, Ethernet communication standards.

301 Note that the in-vehicle communication systemis not limited to having a configuration in which frame relay processing is performed according to the Ethernet communication standard, but may have a configuration in which frame relay is performed according to a communication standard such as CAN (Controller Area Network) (registered trademark), CAN FD (CAN with Flexible Data Rate), FlexRay (registered trademark), MOST (Media Oritend System Transport) (registered trademark), LIN (Local Interconnect Network), or the like.

2 FIG. 1 2 FIGS.and 101 51 52 53 54 55 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the in-vehicle relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to, the in-vehicle relay deviceis provided with a plurality of communication ports, a plurality of communication circuits, a switch IC (Integrated Circuit), a processing unit, and a storage unit.

54 71 72 73 74 54 55 The processing unitincludes a determination unit, a sleep control unit, a detection unit, and an acquisition unit. The processing unitis realized by, for example, a processing circuitry including one or more processors. The storage unitis, for example, a non-volatile memory included in the processing circuitry.

51 201 51 11 The plurality of communication portsare respectively capable of connecting the plurality of in-vehicle ECUs. The communication portsare, for example, terminals to which the Ethernet cableis connectable.

101 51 51 51 51 51 101 201 201 201 51 51 51 11 More specifically, the in-vehicle relay deviceis provided with four communication portsA,B,C, andD, as the plurality of communication ports. In the in-vehicle relay device, the in-vehicle ECUsA,B, andC are respectively connected to the communication portsA,B, andC via the Ethernet cable.

52 51 101 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 The plurality of communication circuitsare provided respectively corresponding to the plurality of communication ports. More specifically, the in-vehicle relay deviceis provided with four communication circuitsA,B,C, andD, as the plurality of communication circuits. The communication circuitsA,B,C, andD are provided respectively corresponding to the communication

52 201 51 52 201 51 52 201 51 52 201 51 The communication circuitscan communicate with the in-vehicle ECUsvia the corresponding communication ports. More specifically, the communication circuitA is capable of communicating with the in-vehicle ECUA via the communication portA, the communication circuitB is capable of communicating with the in-vehicle ECUB via the communication portB, and the communication circuitC is capable of communicating with the in-vehicle ECUC via the communication portC.

2 FIG. 101 53 53 52 52 61 In the example shown in, the in-vehicle relay deviceis provided with the switch IC. The switch ICincludes the communication circuitsA andB and a switch unit.

52 52 53 52 52 53 52 53 52 53 In this way, the communication circuitsA andB are provided inside the switch IC. That is, the communication circuitsA andB are built into the switch IC. On the other hand, the communication circuitC is provided outside the switch IC. That is, the communication circuitC is externally attached to the switch IC.

52 52 53 53 52 52 53 53 Note that the communication circuitsA andB are not limited to being built into the switch ICand may be externally attached to the switch IC. Also, the communication circuitsC andD are not limited to being externally attached to the switch ICand may be built into the switch IC.

52 53 52 52 52 52 53 52 53 52 52 52 52 53 Also, the communication circuitsthat are built into the switch ICare not limited to being the two communication circuitsA andB, and one communication circuitor three or more communication circuitsmay be built into the switch IC. Also, the communication circuitsthat are externally attached to the switch ICare not limited to the two communication circuitsC andD, and one communication circuitor three or more communication circuitsmay be externally attached to the switch IC.

53 61 53 201 The switch ICoperates as, for example, an L2 switch. The switch unitin the switch ICrelays frames that are transmitted and received between the in-vehicle ECUs.

52 201 201 51 61 More specifically, each communication circuit, upon receiving a frame addressed to another in-vehicle ECUfrom the in-vehicle ECUconnected to the corresponding communication port, outputs the received frame to the switch unit.

51 55 An address table indicating the correspondence relationship between destination MAC (Media Access Control) addresses and the communication portsis saved in the storage unit.

61 201 52 51 55 61 52 201 52 51 51 The switch unit, upon receiving a frame addressed to an in-vehicle ECUfrom a communication circuit, specifies the communication portcorresponding to the destination MAC address included in the frame, with reference to the address table in the storage unit. The switch unitthen transmits the frame received from the communication circuitto the destination in-vehicle ECUvia the communication circuitcorresponding to the specified communication portand the specified communication port.

52 101 201 51 61 61 52 54 A communication circuit, upon receiving a frame addressed to the in-vehicle relay devicefrom the in-vehicle ECUconnected via the corresponding communication port, outputs the received frame to the switch unit. The switch unitoutputs the frame received from the communication circuitto the processing unit.

54 201 61 61 54 51 55 61 54 201 52 51 51 The processing unitcreates a frame addressed to an in-vehicle ECUand outputs the created frame to the switch unit. The switch unit, upon receiving the frame from the processing unit, specifies the communication portcorresponding to the destination MAC address included in the frame, with reference to the address table saved in the storage unit. The switch unitthen transmits the frame received from the processing unitto the destination in-vehicle ECUvia the communication circuitcorresponding to the specified communication portand the specified communication port.

61 52 The switch unitincludes a plurality of terminals (not shown) that are respectively connected to the plurality of communication circuits, for example. A unique port number is assigned to each terminal.

101 201 101 201 301 301 The in-vehicle relay deviceand the in-vehicle ECUstransition from the wakeup mode to the sleep mode and transition from the sleep mode to the wakeup mode. The in-vehicle relay deviceand the in-vehicle ECUs, in the wakeup mode, communicate with other devices in the in-vehicle communication system, and, in the sleep mode, stop communication with other devices in the in-vehicle communication system. Here, the sleep mode is a mode in which power consumption is smaller than in the wakeup mode, due to stopping some of the functions of the device, stopping power supply to the device, or reducing the clock frequency in the device.

101 201 For example, in the in-vehicle relay deviceand each of the in-vehicle ECUs, a sleep condition which is a condition for transitioning to the sleep mode and a wakeup condition which is a condition for transitioning to the wakeup mode are set in advance.

501 501 501 501 Examples of sleep conditions include the ignition of the vehiclebeing turned off, and the vehiclestopping and parking. Also, examples of wakeup conditions include the ignition of the vehiclebeing turned on and the vehiclestarting to travel.

3 FIG. 3 FIG. 101 201 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of sleep processing in an in-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In, “device A” and “device B” are the in-vehicle relay deviceand an in-vehicle ECU.

3 FIG. 11 12 301 13 14 Referring to, first, the device A and the device B, in the wakeup mode (steps Sand S), transmit a frame in which an NM (Network Management) message compliant with AUTOSAR (AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture) is stored to devices in the in-vehicle communication system, for example. Specifically, the device A and the device B broadcast a frame in which an NM message is stored to the devices to enable alive supervision (steps Sand S).

15 16 Next, the device A, in the case of the sleep condition thereof being established in the wakeup mode (step S), stops transmitting the NM message (step S).

17 18 Also, the device B, in the case of the sleep condition thereof being established in the wakeup mode (step S), stops transmitting the NM message (step S).

301 19 Next, if the device A and the device B do not receive an NM message from another device in the in-vehicle communication systembefore a predetermined time elapses after stopping transmission of the NM message, the device A and the device B transition to the sleep mode (step S).

In this way, the power consumption of the device A and the device B can be reduced, by switching the state of the device A and the device B from wakeup mode to the sleep mode using NM messages.

19 19 301 Note that, in the sleep mode (step S), the device A and the device B, in the case of the respective wakeup condition thereof being established, transition to the wakeup mode and start regular transmission of the NM message. Also, the device A and the device B, in the case of receiving, in the sleep mode (step S), a wakeup request from another device in the in-vehicle communication system, transition to the wakeup mode.

2 FIG. 71 101 52 52 Referring again to, the determination unitin the in-vehicle relay devicedetermines whether the sleep condition of the communication circuitsis established and whether the wakeup condition of the communication circuitsis established.

71 501 52 52 71 72 More specifically, the determination unitmonitors the state of the vehicleand performs determination processing for determining whether the sleep condition of the communication circuitsis established and whether the wakeup condition of the communication circuitsis established, based on the monitoring result. The determination unitperforms the determination processing regularly, for example, and notifies the determination result to the sleep control unit.

72 52 72 52 The sleep control unittransitions the communication circuitsto the sleep mode. Also, the sleep control unittransitions the communication circuitsto the wakeup mode.

52 71 72 52 More specifically, when the operation mode of the communication circuitis the wakeup mode and a notification that the sleep condition has been established is received from the determination unit, the sleep control unittransitions the communication circuitsto the sleep mode.

52 71 72 52 When the operation mode of a communication circuitis the sleep mode and a notification that the wakeup condition has been established is received from the determination unit, the sleep control unittransitions the communication circuitsto the wakeup mode.

72 201 51 52 61 52 201 101 Also, the sleep control unit, in the case of receiving a wakeup request from an in-vehicle ECUvia a communication port, a communication circuit, and the switch unit, transitions the communication circuitoperating in the sleep mode to the wakeup mode. Hereinafter, the wakeup request that is transmitted by an in-vehicle ECUto the in-vehicle relay devicewill also be referred to as “wakeup request W1”.

101 201 The in-vehicle relay deviceand the in-vehicle ECUthen establish a communication connection with each other, by exchanging frames containing various information.

72 201 201 201 72 201 53 51 101 201 Also, the sleep control unitperforms control for transitioning the in-vehicle ECUsto the wakeup mode. More specifically, when an in-vehicle ECUoperating in the sleep mode is the in-vehicle ECUto be woken up, for example, the sleep control unittransmits a wakeup request to that in-vehicle ECUvia the switch ICand a communication port. Hereinafter, the wakeup request that is transmitted by the in-vehicle relay deviceto an in-vehicle ECUwill also be referred to as “wakeup request W2”.

201 101 The in-vehicle EC, upon receiving the wakeup request W2 from the in-vehicle relay device, transitions to the wakeup mode.

202 201 201 201 202 301 202 202 All applicationsinstalled in an in-vehicle ECUstop operating when the operation mode of the in-vehicle ECUis the sleep mode. An in-vehicle ECU, in the case of receiving a startup request for an applicationfrom another device in the in-vehicle communication system, starts the applicationdesignated in the startup request, among the applicationsinstalled therein.

72 52 The sleep control unittransitions the communication circuitsto a light sleep mode or a deep sleep mode. The light sleep mode is an example of a first sleep mode, and the deep sleep mode is an example of a second sleep mode. Note that the terms “first” and “second” do not imply priority.

101 52 101 More specifically, the in-vehicle relay deviceincludes a plurality of power supply lines (not shown) capable of supplying power to the communication circuits. For example, the in-vehicle relay deviceincludes a power supply line having a voltage of 12 V and a power supply line having a voltage of 3 V.

52 52 52 52 52 For example, when the operation mode of the communication circuitis the light sleep mode, all of the plurality of power supply lines are connected to the communication circuit, and when the operation mode of the communication circuitis the deep sleep mode, one of the plurality of power supply lines is disconnected from the communication circuit. That is, the deep sleep mode is a sleep mode in which power consumption in the communication circuitis smaller than in the light sleep mode.

52 201 51 52 54 52 52 Also, for example, the communication circuit, when the operation mode thereof is the light sleep mode, stops transmission and reception of data with the in-vehicle ECUconnected via the corresponding communication port. Alternatively, when the operation mode of the communication circuitis the light sleep mode, the processing unitis capable of performing some processing such as reading the values of a register (not shown) of the communication circuit, but is unable to perform other processing with the communication circuit.

55 52 55 1 Here, the storage unitstores sleep mode correspondence information indicating the sleep mode to respectively apply to the plurality of communication circuits. More specifically, the storage unitstores a communication circuit table Tbthat includes sleep mode correspondence information.

52 71 72 52 1 55 72 52 When the operation mode of the communication circuitis the wakeup mode and a notification that the sleep condition has been established is received from the determination unit, the sleep control unitdetermines the sleep mode to apply to the communication circuit, with reference to the communication circuit table Tbin the storage unit. The sleep control unitthen transitions the communication circuitto the determined sleep mode.

4 FIG. is a diagram showing an example of the communication circuit table saved in the in-vehicle relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

4 FIG. 4 FIG. 1 55 101 1 52 52 shows an example of the communication circuit table Tbsaved in the storage unitof the in-vehicle relay devicein the existing network. In the example shown in, the deep sleep mode is registered in the communication circuit table Tbas the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andC.

72 52 52 52 52 71 Thus, in the existing network, the sleep control unittransitions the communication circuitsA andC to the deep sleep mode, when the operation mode of the communication circuitsA andC is the wakeup mode and a notification that the sleep condition has been established is received from the determination unit.

4 FIG. 4 FIG. 1 52 52 51 51 201 Also, in the example shown in, the deep sleep mode is registered as the initial value in the communication circuit table Tb, as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsB andD respectively corresponding to the communication portsB andD to which an in-vehicle ECUis not connected. Note that “in-vehicle ECU ID” and “functional unit information” shown inwill be described later.

73 401 73 201 51 The detection unitdetects the addition of new functional units to the in-vehicle network. Here, the detection unitdetects the in-vehicle ECUB connected to the communication portB by the user.

201 51 401 101 More specifically, for example, the in-vehicle ECUB, when connected to the communication portB, transmits connection request information for requesting communication connection in the in-vehicle networkto the in-vehicle relay device.

73 201 53 201 The detection unit, upon receiving the connection request information from the in-vehicle ECUB via the switch IC, performs authentication processing on the in-vehicle ECUB, using an ID and an authentication password that are included in the connection request information.

73 201 201 53 The detection unit, upon successfully authenticating the in-vehicle ECUB, transmits a frame including authentication successful information indicating that authentication was successful to the in-vehicle ECUB via the switch IC.

73 74 The detection unit, upon successfully authenticating the new functional unit as described above, outputs detection information indicating the ID of the new functional unit, the port number corresponding to the new functional unit, and the like to the acquisition unit.

201 73 101 When authentication processing of the in-vehicle ECUB by the detection unitis successful, the in-vehicle relay deviceand the new functional unit perform transmission and reception of NM messages regularly, for example.

73 53 Note that the detection unitmay be configured to broadcast a search message for detecting a new functional unit via the switch ICregularly, for example. In this case, the new functional unit receives the search message and transmits connection request information as the response to the received search message.

Given that the deep sleep mode involves disconnecting a power supply line, transitioning to the wakeup mode takes a long time compared to the light sleep mode.

301 202 In the in-vehicle communication system, an allowable time for each applicationto start (hereinafter also referred to as “allowable wakeup time”) is set.

5 FIG. is a diagram showing an example of the allowable wakeup time of each application in the in-vehicle communication system according to the embodiment of the

5 FIG. 5 FIG. 202 202 202 202 202 202 In the example shown in, the allowable wakeup time of the applicationA is “100 ms”, the allowable wakeup time of the applicationB is “10 ms”, and the allowable wakeup time of the applicationC is “100 ms”. That is, in the example shown in, the allowable wakeup times of the applicationsA andC are longer than the allowable wakeup time of the applicationB.

201 201 202 52 52 201 202 52 52 52 52 The in-vehicle ECUsA andB in which the applicationA having a long allowable wakeup time is installed respectively communicate with the communication circuitsA andB. Also, the in-vehicle ECUC in which the applicationC having a long allowable wakeup time is installed communicates with the communication circuitC. Thus, it is conceivable to apply the deep sleep mode to the communication circuitsA,B, andC.

1 2 FIGS.and 201 202 202 202 72 52 52 202 202 201 101 201 202 201 However, in the examples shown in, the in-vehicle ECUB has the applicationB is installed therein. The allowable wakeup time of the applicationB is shorter than the allowable wakeup time of the applicationA. Here, consider the case where the sleep control unittransitions the communication circuitB operating in the deep sleep mode to the wakeup mode. In this case, when the time required for the communication circuitB to transition to the wakeup mode exceeds the allowable wakeup time “10 ms” of the applicationB, despite not exceeding the allowable wakeup time of the applicationA, operation in the new network becomes unstable. Specifically, the in-vehicle ECUB could possibly not be able to communicate via the in-vehicle relay devicewith another in-vehicle ECUthat has transmitted a startup request for the applicationB installed in the in-vehicle ECUB.

72 52 52 53 101 101 52 52 Also, the sleep control unitis unable to apply sleep control individually to the communication circuitsA andB built into the switch IC, due to specification constraints of the hardware or the like of the in-vehicle relay device, for example. That is, in the in-vehicle relay device, a common sleep mode needs to be applied to the communication circuitsA andB.

1 FIG. 4 FIG. 201 202 51 52 201 51 52 72 52 52 In the example shown in, in the existing network, the in-vehicle ECUA in which the applicationA having a long allowable wakeup time is installed is connected to the communication portA corresponding to the communication circuitA, whereas the in-vehicle ECUB is not connected to the communication portB corresponding to the communication circuitB. Thus, in the example shown in, the sleep control unitselects the deep sleep mode as the common sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andB in the existing network.

202 201 202 202 72 52 52 202 202 However, in the new network, in addition to the applicationA, the in-vehicle ECUB has the applicationB with a shorter allowable wakeup time than the applicationA installed therein. Thus, when the sleep control unittransitions the communication circuitB operating in the deep sleep mode to the wakeup mode, operation in the new network becomes unstable, when the time required for the communication circuitB to transition to the wakeup mode exceeds the allowable wakeup time of the applicationB, despite not exceeding the allowable wakeup time of the applicationA, as described above.

101 In contrast, the in-vehicle relay deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure solves such problems by a configuration and operations such as the following.

1 2 FIGS.and 74 201 201 201 Referring again to, the acquisition unitacquires the identification information of the existing functional units. Hereinafter, as the identification information of the existing functional units, the IDs of the in-vehicle ECUsA,B, andC are assumed to be “ID1-A”, “ID1-B”, and “ID1-C”, respectively.

74 53 101 101 More specifically, the acquisition unittransmits an information request notification for requesting the identification information of the existing functional units regularly or irregularly to the existing functional units via the switch IC, for example. The existing functional units transmit the respective IDs thereof to the in-vehicle relay deviceas the response to the information request notification received from the in-vehicle relay device.

74 53 1 55 52 51 The acquisition unit, upon receiving the identification information of each existing functional unit via the switch IC, registers the identification information of the existing functional unit in the communication circuit table Tbsaved in the storage unit, in association with the communication circuitcorresponding to the communication portthat received the identification information.

4 FIG. 201 52 201 52 Referring again to, the ID of the in-vehicle ECUthat communicates with the communication circuitA is “ID1-A”, and the ID of the in-vehicle ECUthat communicates with the communication circuitC is “ID1-C”.

74 74 53 101 101 The acquisition unitacquires the functional unit information of the existing functional units. More specifically, for example, the acquisition unitregularly or irregularly transmits an information request notification for requesting the functional unit information of the existing functional units to the existing functional units via the switch IC. The existing functional units transmit the respective functional unit information thereof to the in-vehicle relay device, as the response to the information request notification received from the in-vehicle relay device.

74 53 1 55 52 51 55 52 51 1 The acquisition unit, upon receiving the functional unit information of each existing functional unit via the switch IC, registers the functional unit information of the existing functional unit in the communication circuit table Tbsaved in the storage unit, in association with the communication circuitcorresponding to the communication portto which the existing functional unit is connected. In this way, the storage unitstores function correspondence information indicating the correspondence relationship between the communication circuitcorresponding to the communication portto which each existing functional unit is connected and the functional unit information of the existing functional unit. In other words, the communication circuit table Tbincludes function correspondence information.

202 202 202 The functional unit information of each existing functional unit includes application information relating to applications installed in the existing functional unit. Specifically, the application information includes information relating to the type of applicationand information relating to the allowable wakeup time. The information relating to the type of applicationincludes, for example, the ID (hereinafter also referred to as “application ID”) of the application.

202 202 202 Hereinafter, the IDs of the applicationsA,B, andC are assumed to be “ID2-A”, “ID2-B”, and “ID2-C”, respectively.

4 FIG. 201 52 201 52 201 52 201 52 In the example shown in, the functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECUA is associated with the communication circuitA. Specifically, the application ID of the in-vehicle ECUthat communicates with the communication circuitA is “ID2-A”, and the allowable wakeup time is “100 ms”. The functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECUC is associated with the communication circuitC. Specifically, the application ID of the in-vehicle ECUthat communicates with the communication circuitC is “ID2-C”, and the allowable wakeup time is “100 ms”.

55 74 55 Note that, in the case where the identification information and the functional unit information of the existing functional units are saved in advance in the storage unit, the acquisition unitmay acquire the identification information and the functional unit information of the existing functional units from the storage unit.

201 401 74 When the addition of an in-vehicle ECUto the in-vehicle networkincluding the existing functional units, that is, the existing network, is detected, the acquisition unitacquires the functional unit information of the new functional unit whose addition is detected.

74 73 51 74 53 51 101 101 For example, the acquisition unit, upon receiving detection information from the detection unit, specifies the communication portto which the new functional unit is connected, with reference to the port number included in the detection information. The acquisition unitthen transmits an information request notification for requesting the functional unit information of the new functional unit to the new functional unit via the switch ICand the specified communication port. The new functional unit transmits the functional unit information thereof to the in-vehicle relay device, as the response to the information request notification received from the in-vehicle relay device.

202 202 101 The functional unit information of the new functional unit includes application information relating to applications installed in the new functional unit. When one applicationis installed therein, the new functional unit transmits information including the ID of the applicationand information relating to the allowable wakeup time to the in-vehicle relay deviceas application information.

202 202 101 202 101 On the other hand, when a plurality of the applicationsare installed therein, the new functional unit transmits information including the ID of each applicationto the in-vehicle relay deviceas application information. Also, when a plurality of applicationsare installed therein, the new functional unit transmits information relating to the allowable wakeup time with the smallest value to the in-vehicle relay deviceas application information.

74 52 51 55 The acquisition unit, in the case of acquiring the functional unit information of the new functional unit, performs update processing for registering the correspondence relationship between the communication circuitcorresponding to the communication portto which the new functional unit is connected and the functional unit information of the new functional unit in the function correspondence information in the storage unit.

74 201 201 1 55 52 74 72 More specifically, the acquisition unit, in the case of acquiring the functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECUB, registers the functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECUB in the communication circuit table Tbsaved in the storage unit, in association with the communication circuitB. The acquisition unit, in the case of completing the update processing, outputs an update completed notification indicating that the update processing has been completed to the sleep control unit.

6 FIG. 6 FIG. 201 52 is a diagram showing an example of the communication circuit table after the update processing by the in-vehicle relay device according to the embodiment Referring to, the application IDs of the in-vehicle ECUthat communicates with the communication circuitB are “ID2-A”, “ID2-B”, and the allowable wakeup time is “10 ms”.

74 73 1 Also, the acquisition unit, upon receiving detection information from the detection unit, registers the ID of the new functional unit included in the detection information in the communication circuit table Tb.

74 73 52 74 1 55 52 More specifically, the acquisition unit, upon receiving detection information from the detection unit, specifies the communication circuitthat communicates with the new functional unit, with reference to the port number included in the detection information. The acquisition unitthen registers the ID of the new functional unit in the communication circuit table Tbsaved in the storage unit, in association with the specified communication circuit.

6 FIG. 201 52 In the example shown in, the ID of the in-vehicle ECUthat communicates with the communication circuitB is “ID1-B”.

1 2 FIGS.and 72 52 51 52 51 74 Referring again to, the sleep control unitperforms selection processing for selecting, from among the plurality of types of sleep modes, the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuitcorresponding to the communication portto which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuitscorresponding to the communication portsto which the existing functional units are connected, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit.

2 55 2 72 52 More specifically, a condition table Tbis saved in the storage unit. The condition table Tbis a table for the sleep control unitto determine whether to select the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuits.

72 74 1 55 The sleep control unit, upon receiving an update completed notification from the acquisition unit, performs selection processing, based on the communication circuit table Tbin the storage unitafter the update processing.

7 FIG. is a diagram showing an example of the condition table saved by the in-vehicle relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

7 FIG. 202 2 52 52 53 52 52 52 52 Referring to, “condition 1”, which is a condition relating to the type and number of applications, and “condition 2”, which is a condition relating to the allowable wakeup time, for example, are registered in the condition table Tb. Condition 1 is a condition for determining whether to select the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andB built into the switch IC. Condition 2 is a condition for determining whether to select the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA,B,C, andD.

72 72 The sleep control unitperforms the selection processing using condition 1 or condition 2. Hereinafter, the determination condition that the sleep control unituses in the selection processing will also be referred to as the “deep sleep application condition”.

72 52 52 202 202 202 202 For example, in selection processing that uses condition 1, the sleep control unitselects the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andB, when the type of applicationsinstalled in the existing functional units matches the type of applicationsinstalled in the new functional unit, and the number of applicationsinstalled in the existing functional units matches the number of applicationsinstalled in the new functional unit.

7 FIG. 201 52 201 52 72 52 52 In the example shown in, “If corresponding application IDs are the same, select deep sleep mode” is registered as condition 1. When the application IDs of the in-vehicle ECUA that communicates with the communication circuitA and the application IDs of the in-vehicle ECUB that communicates with the communication circuitB match each other, the sleep control unitselects the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andB.

201 52 201 52 72 52 52 On the other hand, when the application IDs of the in-vehicle ECUA that communicates with the communication circuitA and the application IDs of the in-vehicle ECUB that communicates with the communication circuitB do not match each other, the sleep control unitselects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andB.

7 FIG. 201 52 201 52 202 201 202 201 72 52 52 In the example shown in, the application ID of the in-vehicle ECUA that communicates with the communication circuitA is “ID-A”, whereas the application ID of the in-vehicle ECUB that communicates with the communication circuitB is “ID-A, ID-B”. That is, the number of applicationsinstalled in the in-vehicle ECUA and the number of applicationsinstalled in the in-vehicle ECUB do not match each other. Thus, the sleep control unitselects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andB.

72 52 52 1 More specifically, the sleep control unitchanges the type of sleep mode to apply to the “communication circuitA” and “communication circuitB” in the communication circuit table Tbfrom “deep sleep mode” to “light sleep mode”.

72 52 201 In selection processing that uses condition 2, the sleep control unitselects the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitwhen the allowable wakeup time of the in-vehicle ECUthat communicates with that communication circuit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

7 FIG. 201 52 72 52 In the example shown in, “If corresponding allowable wakeup time is 100 ms or more, select deep sleep mode” is registered as condition 2. Specifically, when the allowable wakeup time of the in-vehicle ECUthat communicates with the communication circuitis 100 ms or more, the sleep control unitselects the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuit.

7 FIG. 201 52 72 52 In the example shown in, the allowable wakeup time “10 ms” of the in-vehicle ECUB that communicates with the communication circuitB is shorter than 100 ms. Thus, the sleep control unitselects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitB.

72 52 52 53 As described above, the sleep control unithas, for example, registered the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andB built into the switch ICin the existing network (hereinafter also referred to as the “initial mode state”).

6 7 FIGS.and 51 52 53 52 72 52 52 53 52 In the examples shown in, as described above, when a new functional unit is connected to the communication portB corresponding to at least one of the plurality of communication circuitsbuilt into the switch IC, that is, the communication circuitB, in the initial mode state, the sleep control unitselects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitB. In this case, the sleep control unit changes the type of sleep mode to apply to all of the remaining communication circuitsbuilt into the switch IC, that is, the communication circuitA, from the deep sleep mode to the light sleep mode.

72 52 52 1 Specifically, the sleep control unitchanges the type of sleep mode to apply to the “communication circuitA” and the “communication circuitB” from “deep sleep mode” to “light sleep mode” in the communication circuit table Tb.

8 FIG. is a flowchart defining an operation procedure of the selection processing by the in-vehicle relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

8 FIG. 101 11 51 51 51 11 52 52 52 52 101 Referring to, first, the in-vehicle relay deviceregisters sleep mode correspondence information in the communication circuit table Tb, in a state where the existing functional units are connected to some of the plurality of communication ports. Here, the existing functional units are assumed to be connected to the communication portsA andC. Also, in the communication circuit table Tb, the deep sleep mode is assumed to be registered as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA,B,C, andD (step S).

101 401 102 102 103 Next, the in-vehicle relay devicewaits for addition of a new functional unit to the in-vehicle network(NO in step S), and, upon detecting addition of a new functional unit (YES in step S), acquires the functional unit information of the detected new functional unit (step S).

101 101 1 55 51 104 Next, the in-vehicle relay deviceupdates the function correspondence information. For example, as described above, the in-vehicle relay device, upon acquiring the functional unit information of the new functional unit, registers the functional unit information of the new functional unit in the communication circuit table Tbsaved in the storage unit, in association with the communication portto which the new functional unit is connected (step S).

101 1 2 55 105 52 51 51 106 Next, the in-vehicle relay devicerefers to the communication circuit table Tband the condition table Tbin the storage unit, and, when the deep sleep application condition is satisfied (YES in step S), selects the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuitcorresponding to the communication portto which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuits corresponding to the communication portsto which the existing functional units are connected (step S).

105 101 52 51 52 51 107 On the other hand, when the deep sleep application condition is not satisfied (NO in step S), the in-vehicle relay deviceselects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuitcorresponding to the communication portto which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuitscorresponding to the communication portsto which the existing functional units are connected (step S).

101 1 101 52 52 52 1 108 Next, the in-vehicle relay devicechanges the sleep mode correspondence information included in the communication circuit table Tb. For example, as described above, the in-vehicle relay device, in the case of selecting the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to each communication circuit, changes the type of sleep mode to apply to “communication circuitA” and “communication circuitB” from “deep sleep mode” to “light sleep mode” in the communication circuit table Tb(step S).

101 401 Also, the in-vehicle relay device, in the case of detecting the addition of another new functional unit in the in-vehicle networkafter the selection processing, newly performs the selection processing.

1 2 FIGS.and 401 74 72 74 1 55 More specifically, referring to, in the case of another new functional unit being added to the in-vehicle network, the acquisition unitacquires the functional unit information of the other new functional unit. The sleep control unitperforms the selection processing, based on the functional unit information of the other new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unitand the sleep correspondence information included in the communication circuit table Tbin the storage unit.

74 201 51 73 201 Specifically, the acquisition unit, upon receiving the detection information of an in-vehicle ECUconnected to the communication portD from the detection unit, acquires the functional unit information of that in-vehicle ECU.

74 201 51 201 1 55 52 51 72 1 2 55 The acquisition unit, upon acquiring the functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECUconnected to the communication portD, registers the functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECUin the communication circuit table Tbsaved in the storage unit, in association with the communication circuitcorresponding to the communication portD. The sleep control unitthen newly performs the selection processing using the communication circuit table Tband the condition table Tbin the storage unit.

9 FIG. is a flowchart defining an operation procedure of sleep control in the in-vehicle relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

9 FIG. 101 201 202 Referring to, first, the in-vehicle relay deviceoperates in the wakeup mode (step S), until the sleep condition thereof is established (NO in step S).

101 202 52 1 55 203 Next, the in-vehicle relay device, upon the sleep condition thereof being established (YES in step S), determines the sleep mode to apply to the communication circuits, with reference to the communication circuit table Tbin the storage unit(step S).

101 52 204 205 Next, the in-vehicle relay devicetransitions the communication circuitsto the determined sleep mode and maintains the sleep mode (step S), until the wakeup condition thereof is established (NO in step S).

101 205 52 201 Next, the in-vehicle relay device, upon the wakeup condition thereof being established (YES in step S), transitions the communication circuitsto the wakeup mode (step S).

10 FIG. 101 51 51 is a diagram showing an example of a sleep control sequence in the in-vehicle communication system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, an example of sleep control in the in-vehicle relay devicewhen the existing functional units are connected to the communication portsA andC will be described.

10 FIG. 101 1 51 51 1 52 52 52 52 301 Referring to, first, the in-vehicle relay deviceregisters sleep mode correspondence information in the communication circuit table Tb, in a state where the existing functional units are connected to the communication portsA andC. Here, the deep sleep mode is assumed to be registered in the communication circuit table Tbas the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA,B,C, andD (step S).

401 101 51 302 Next, a new functional unit added to the in-vehicle networktransmits connection request information to the in-vehicle relay device. Here, the new functional unit is assumed to be connected to the communication portB (step S).

101 303 Next, the in-vehicle relay device, upon receiving the connection request information from the new functional unit, detects the new functional unit and performs authentication processing on the new functional unit (step S).

101 304 Next, the in-vehicle relay device, upon successfully authenticating the new functional unit, transmits authentication successful information to the new functional unit (step S).

101 305 Next, the in-vehicle relay devicetransmits an information request notification for requesting functional unit information of the new functional unit (step S).

101 306 Next, the new functional unit transmits the functional unit information of the new functional unit to the in-vehicle relay device, as the response to the information request notification (step S).

101 101 1 55 52 51 307 Next, the in-vehicle relay device, upon acquiring the functional unit information of the new functional unit, performs update processing for updating the function correspondence information. For example, as described above, the in-vehicle relay deviceregisters the functional unit information of the new functional unit in the communication circuit table Tbin the storage unit, in association with the communication circuitcorresponding to the communication portto which the new functional unit is connected (step S).

101 52 51 52 51 101 52 52 52 52 308 Next, the in-vehicle relay deviceperforms selection processing for selecting, from among the plurality of types of sleep modes, the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuitcorresponding to the communication portto which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuitscorresponding to the communication portsto which the existing functional units are connected, based on the function correspondence information after the update processing. Here, it is assumed that the in-vehicle relay devicechanges the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andB from the deep sleep mode to the light sleep mode and maintains the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsC andD (step S).

101 309 310 Next, upon the sleep conditions of the existing functional units, the in-vehicle relay device, and the new functional unit being established (step S), the existing functional units transition to the sleep mode (step S).

101 52 101 52 52 52 52 311 312 Also, the in-vehicle relay devicetransitions the communication circuitsto the sleep mode selected in the selection processing. More specifically, the in-vehicle relay devicetransitions the communication circuitsA andB to the light sleep mode and the communication circuitsC andD to the deep sleep mode (step S). Also, the new functional unit transitions to the sleep mode (step S).

313 101 314 Next, the new functional unit, upon transitioning to the wakeup mode after the wakeup condition thereof is established (step S), transmits a wakeup request W1 to the in-vehicle relay device(step S).

101 52 72 101 52 315 Next, the in-vehicle relay device, upon receiving the wakeup request W1 from the new functional unit, transitions the communication circuitcorresponding to the new functional unit to the wakeup mode. Here, the sleep control unitin the in-vehicle relay devicetransitions the communication circuitB to the wakeup mode (step S).

101 316 Next, the in-vehicle relay devicetransmits a wakeup request W2 to the existing functional units (step S).

101 317 Next, the existing functional units, upon receiving the wakeup request W2 from the in-vehicle relay device, transition to the wakeup mode (step S).

52 101 51 61 61 52 318 Next, the new functional unit and the existing functional units communicate with each other. For example, a communication circuitin the in-vehicle relay device, upon receiving a frame addressed to an existing functional unit from the new functional unit via the corresponding communication port, outputs the received frame to the switch unit. The switch unittransmits the frame received from the communication circuitto the existing functional unit to which the frame is addressed (step S).

101 72 52 72 52 Note that, in the in-vehicle relay deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure, in the selection processing, the sleep control unitis configured to select, from among the two sleep modes, the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuitscorresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional units, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In the selection processing, the sleep control unitmay be configured to select, from among three or more sleep modes, the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuitscorresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional units.

101 74 74 Note that, in the in-vehicle relay deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition unitis configured to acquire application information of the new functional unit, as functional unit information of the new functional unit, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the acquisition unitmay acquire hardware information of the new functional unit as the functional unit information of the new functional unit.

101 74 202 74 202 Also, in the in-vehicle relay deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition unitis configured to acquire, as application information, information relating to the type of applicationsand information relating to the allowable wakeup time, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the acquisition unitmay acquire information relating to hardware constraints of the applicationsas application information.

101 74 74 Also, in the in-vehicle relay deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition unitis configured to acquire the functional unit information of existing functional units and the functional unit information of new functional units, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. A configuration may be adopted in which the acquisition unitdoes not acquire the functional unit information of existing functional units, for example.

101 55 1 55 Also, in the in-vehicle relay deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the storage unitis configured to store the communication circuit table Tbcontaining function correspondence information and sleep correspondence information, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The storage unitmay separately store a table containing function correspondence information and a table including sleep correspondence information.

101 72 52 52 53 72 52 53 In the in-vehicle relay deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sleep control unitis configured to select, from among a plurality of types of sleep modes, the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andB built into the switch IC, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The sleep control unitmay be configured to select, from among a plurality of types of sleep modes, the type of sleep mode to apply to communication circuitsthat are externally attached to the switch IC.

11 FIG. is a diagram showing the configuration of a variation of the in-vehicle communication system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

11 FIG. 11 FIG. 201 201 201 201 101 Referring to, in the variation, the in-vehicle ECUsA andB are examples of existing functional units, and an in-vehicle ECUD is an example of a new functional unit. Also, in, the dashed double-headed arrow indicates that the in-vehicle ECUD and the in-vehicle relay deviceare not connected.

202 202 201 In the variation, applicationsB andC are installed in the in-vehicle ECUD.

12 FIG. is a diagram showing a communication circuit table saved by the variation of the in-vehicle relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

12 FIG. 12 FIG. 11 55 101 11 52 52 shows an example of a communication circuit table Tbsaved in the storage unitof the variation of the in-vehicle relay devicein an existing network. In the example shown in, the light sleep mode is registered in the communication circuit table Tbas the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsA andB.

12 FIG. 11 52 52 51 51 201 Also, in the example shown in, the deep sleep mode is registered as the initial value in the communication circuit table Tb, as the sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitsC andD respectively corresponding to the communication portsC andD to which an in-vehicle ECUare not connected.

201 74 201 201 53 201 101 101 201 51 When addition of the in-vehicle ECUD to the existing network is detected, the acquisition unittransmits an information request notification for requesting the functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECUD to the in-vehicle ECUD via the switch IC. The in-vehicle ECUD transmits the functional unit information thereof to the in-vehicle relay device, as the response to the information request notification received from the in-vehicle relay device. Here, the in-vehicle ECUD is assumed to be connected to the communication portC by the user.

74 201 201 11 55 52 51 201 The acquisition unit, in the case of acquiring the functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECUD, registers the functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECUD in the communication circuit table Tbsaved in the storage unit, in association with the communication circuitC corresponding to the communication portC to which the in-vehicle ECUD is connected.

13 FIG. is a diagram showing the communication circuit table after update processing by the variation of the in-vehicle relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

13 FIG. 201 52 201 52 Referring to, the application IDs of the in-vehicle ECUD that communicates with the communication circuitC are “ID2-B, ID2-C”, and the allowable wakeup time is “10 ms”. Also, the ID of the in-vehicle ECUD that communicates with the communication circuitC is “ID1-D”.

72 74 11 2 55 72 201 52 52 In the variation, the sleep control unit, upon receiving an update completed notification from the acquisition unit, refers to the communication circuit table Tbafter the update processing and the condition table Tbin the storage unit. The sleep control unitthen determines that the allowable wakeup time of the in-vehicle ECUD that communicates with the communication circuitC is shorter than 100 ms and selects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to apply to the communication circuitC.

72 52 11 Specifically, the sleep control unitchanges the type of sleep mode to apply to the “communication circuitC” from “deep sleep mode” to “light sleep mode” in the communication circuit table Tb.

72 52 52 53 72 52 52 13 FIG. Also, in the variation, the sleep control unit, in the new network, maintains the type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuitsA andB built into the switch ICin the sleep mode applied in the existing network. In the example shown in, the sleep control unitmaintains the type of sleep mode to apply to “communication circuitA” and “communication circuitB” in “light sleep mode”.

The foregoing embodiments are to be construed in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims rather than the description above, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims and equivalents thereof.

Each type of processing (each function) in the above embodiment is realized by a processing circuitry including one or more processors. The processing circuitry may be constituted by an integrated circuit or the like that combines one or more memories, various analog circuits, and various digital circuits, in addition to the one or more processors. The one or more memories store programs (instructions) that cause the one or more processors to execute each type of the above processing. The one or more processors may execute each type of the above processing according to the programs read out from the one or more memories, or may execute each type of the above processing according to a logic circuit designed in advance to execute each type of the above processing. The processors may be various processors suitable for computer control, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Note that a plurality of physically separated processors may cooperate with each other to execute each type of the above processing. For example, the processors installed in a plurality of physically separate computers may cooperate with each other via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the internet to execute each type of the above processing. The above programs may be installed in the memories via the network from an external server device or the like, or may be distributed in a state stored on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory), or semiconductor memory, and installed in the memories from the recording medium.

The above description includes characteristics described in the following supplementary notes.

An in-vehicle relay device including: a plurality of communication ports configured to be respectively connected to a plurality of in-vehicle functional units; a plurality of communication circuits provided respectively corresponding to the plurality of communication ports and configured to communicate with the in-vehicle functional units via the corresponding communication ports; and a processing circuitry, the processing circuitry being configured to acquire, when addition of one of the in-vehicle functional unit to an in-vehicle network including an existing functional unit, which is one or more of the in-vehicle functional units, is detected, functional unit information of a new functional unit, which is the in-vehicle functional unit whose addition is detected; and perform, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit, selection processing for selecting, from among a plurality of types of sleep modes, a type of sleep mode to respectively apply to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected.